1. Silk’s Light soymilk, as well as its “Heart Health” soymilk, is made with hexane-extracted soy flour instead of whole soybeans.  Hexane is a highly explosive volatile solvent.  It is a byproduct of gasoline refining and a neurotoxin.  Soybeans used in Silk’s Light and Heart Health soymilk are immersed in this neurotoxic petrochemical to make soy flour, which is listed as the main ingredient in these Silk products.
2. Hexane is classified as a “hazardous air pollutant” by the Environmental Protection Agency and emissions are regulated for their contribution to air pollution.  Food processors are the country’s major hexane emitters.  When The Cornucopia Institute sent samples of hexane-extracted soy flour to an independent lab for residue testing, residues as high as 21 parts per million were found.  The effects on consumer health of repeated and long-term consumption of hexane-extracted soy ingredients have not been thoroughly studied. An extraction process that does not involve hexane is available, but using hexane is cheaper for the processor.
3. Silk’s creamers and Silk Plus Omega-3 DHA contain other minor hexane-extracted ingredients-soy lecithin and algal oil, respectively. Moreover, the Cornucopia Institute has received reports from parents of toddlers and children who experienced diarrhea and stomach upset from the DHA used in Silk (Life’s DHA by Martek Biosciences Corporation).  This is the same additive, found in infant formula (extracted from algae and soil fungus), that has been linked to severe adverse reactions in infants. (Cornucopia has obtained adverse reaction reports from the FDA verifying this unfortunate health side-effect.)  The FDA has never tested the safety of Life’s DHA, relying instead on safety data supplied by the same corporation that has a financial interest in selling and placing these additives in foods.  The FDA did, however, indicate serious reservations regarding the safety of these additives.

Have pretty much stayed on track with my fitness plans – lost about 7 lbs so far.  Got back into some jeans I had outgrown.  The bodybugg has been helpful in reminding me that I need to find ways to fit workouts into my days.

The Kinetix nutrition program has me looking at food labels in a different way.  Checking for a balance of carbs and proteins with minimal fat content.

I keep working at increasing my muscle mass because then I will burn more calories naturally and that means I can expand my menu!  Yeah!

I haven’t had time to make my green smoothies and figure out how to balance them with enough protein for the Kinetix fitness program I am currently participating in so I picked up my anti-depression prescription today to keep me functioning.  I need to try to figure this out so maybe I’ll ask for some help from my Kinetix coach.

In other news, the Bodybugg is keeping me on track with burning calories.  At the end of my day yesterday I headed over to the gym to do some major cardio work in order to meet my minimum goal of burning 1900 calories each day.

Right now my watch tells me that I’ve only burned 1233 cal. for today but I am having pain from what feels like a pulled muscle in my back on the upper right side – right under the clavical.  Every turn of my head is giving me pain right now.  I’m going to apply some heat there and try to mix up some green smoothie to make me feel better.

By Amy Norton

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – A cup of green tea per day may help keep gum disease at bay, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that among middle-aged Japanese, the odds of having gum disease declined as the men’s intake of green tea rose.

For each daily cup they drank, the risk of having signs of gum disease — including receding, easily bleeding gums — inched downward, the researchers report in the Journal of Periodontology.

The findings do not mean, however, that green tea is a substitute for seeing the dentist. The relationship between green tea and lower odds of gum disease was fairly weak, Dr. Yoshihiro Shimazaki, one of the researchers on the study, told Reuters Health.

Good overall oral care, Shimazaki said, is what’s most important.

For the study, Shimazaki and his colleagues at Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan, examined 940 men between the ages of 49 and 59 for signs of gum disease. The men also completed a questionnaire on smoking and drinking habits, tooth-brushing habits and green tea intake.

In general, the study found, the odds of gum disease declined as green tea intake climbed, even with the other lifestyle factors considered. The researchers did, however, lack information on the men’s overall diet, and past studies have suggested that certain foods and nutrients — like whole grains, fiber and vitamin C — may protect against gum disease.

If green tea itself does combat gum disease, it may be because of its concentration of antioxidant compounds called polyphenols, according to Shimazaki.

Gum disease arises from bacterial infection, and lab research suggests that green tea polyphenols can inhibit those germs and the damage they cause.

SOURCE: Journal of Periodontology, March 2009.

via Green tea may help keep gums healthy.